Turnbuckle



F. WRIGHT May 11, 1954- TURNBUCKLE Filed Dec. 27, 1950 Patented May 11, 1954 PAT ENT orties TURNBUCKLE- FrankzWrighh-.Morenm,(lalif.; Ben F. White, ad-y ministrator fof saidiFrankWrigha .deceased Application December 27, 1950;- SerialfNo.` 202,924 2 Claims. (Cl. 287-60) This invention relates to turnbuckles and an object is to provide a turnbuckle com-posed" of few parts which are` not expensive to manufacture.

Another object is to provide means for easily adjusting the turnbuckle to provide thendesired tension in the cable or other member which it is connected and for locking'the turnbuckle in its adjusted position.

Another object is to provide lmeans associated with adjustable part of theturnbuckle which servesas an indicator to visually indicate tothe operator when the adjustment is proper to make the turnbuckle safed so thatitwill transmit the full-load tension for whichdtis constructed.

Qtherobjectswill becomeapparent as; the description thereof proceeds. For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional View through the axis of a turnbuckle embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken through line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken through line 3--3 of Fig. 1 and,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through one end of a turnbuckle showing a modied form of the invention. Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of a turnbuckle showing l another modification of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the turnbuckle comprises an elongated metal sleeve I interiorly threaded at 2, 3 and its ends exteriorly threaded at 4,5. A cylindrical hole 6 through its center is provided to receive a long pin (not shown), the turning of which causes sleeve I to rotate to tighten or loosen the turnbuckle. The interior threads 2, 3 engage the exterior threads 1, 8 formed on the inner ends of driven members 9, I!) whose outer ends II, I2 have drilled holes I3, I4 adapted to receive the ends of the wire or cable (not shown) whose tension is to be adjusted. Methods of securing the cable to members 9, I are well known and need not be described. Members 9, I0 have cylindrical surfaces which serve as journal bearings I for a pair of hollow members I6, I'I which have interior threads I8, I9 in threaded engagement with the threads 4, 5. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the threads 'I and 8 are of opposite hand and the threads 4, 5 are of opposite hand to the threads 1, 8 respectively. Driven members 9, ID are provided with hexagonal anges 20, 2| adjacent to the bearings I5 to be gripped and held 2; by a wrench when the cab1eis--beingz tightened: The bearings I5 are drilled to receiveaz snugly ttingcylindrical lockingv pin 2:2, which: also passesthroughr aligned holes; 23 formed in hollew. members I6'. Il; Preferably extra sets: of holes32'4fiand25 (see Fig..3) are provided'inmeme.- bers 1:6), I .TI for. their angular adjustmentcnrbearing' I 5.:l Itiwill be understoodnthat: insteadnffthe pins 22, cotter.r pins, screws or other known means may be usedto flock: the turnbuckle.

In usingv the: turnbuckl'e toy tighteny av cable whose ends have been. secured inv the holes I3'-.I4, the locking pins not: being in place, hol-l` low members IE-Iiarescrewe'd in on threads f 411-.-5! as; farv as`v theyl willgo, threads 1,' B-'f are broughtinto engagementiwiththe threads-2L', 3 respectively and sleeve I rotated by means of a pin inserted through hole 6 to draw the driven members 9-I0 inwardly until the cable is under the desired tension. In both illustrated forms of the invention, means is provided whereby the operator can determine visually whether a suicient number of threads 2--1 and 3 8 are in engagement to safely transmit the desired stress. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the length of engagement of threads 2 and 1 is the same as the length of engagement of threads I8 and 4. By knowing the total number of turns of thread 4 and counting the number of turns which are visible beyond the end of member I6, the operator can readily determine the diierence which indicates the number of turns of threads 'I and 2 which are engaged together. If a sufcient number of threads are engaged, the operator rotates members I6 and I l slightly until one of the holes 23l 24 or 25 lines up with the hole in bearing I5 and drives in the pins 22, thus locking the turnbuckle.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of a turnbuckle similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 except as to the lengths of certain parts. In this embodiment of the invention, the members I6 and the threads IB thereon extend beyond the end of threads 'I by such an extent that when the operator has rotated sleeve I until thread 4 is fully covered by thread I8 and no part of thread 4 is visible, a suicient length of threads 2 and 1 is in engagement to transmit the full stress that the turnbuckle is intended to carry. The corresponding parts at the other end of the turnbuckle are similarly arranged. When used in an airplane installation having several turnbuckles, this arrangement provides for an easy and rapid inspection, the inspector merely having to look for the threads 4 and if 3 he nds them fully covered, he knows that the turnbuckles are adjusted so as to be capable of carrying their full loads.

Fig. 5 shows a further modication in which the hexagonal nut 20 is smaller than bearing I5' so that member I6 may be slid outwardly prior to the engagement of threads 2-1 in the assembly. After the cable is suiiiciently tight by rotation of sleeve l, member I6 is slid inwardly and screwed into position along thread 4. This construction facilitates inspection in that an nspector may remove pin 22, screw member I6 off thread 4 and slide it out, thus permitting the visual inspection of thread 'I as to sufficiency of engagement with thread 2.

Having described its construction, this application is intended to cover all changes and modications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A turnbuckle comprising a sleeve having its ends internally threaded in opposite directions and externally threaded in opposite directions, the internal thread at each end being of opposite hand to the surrounding external thread; a pair of driven members having threaded portions at their inner ends and recesses adapted to receive the ends of a cable to be tightened at their outer ends, said driven members having cylindrical bearings located between said threaded portions and recesses and said threaded portions having threaded engagement with the interior threads of the sleeve to be simultaneously drawn together upon rotation of the sleeve; a pair of hollow locking members having their outer ends journaled for rotation on said cylindrical bearings and having interior threads in threaded engagement with the external threads of said sleeve; and means engaging the outer ends of said locking members for preventing rotation thereof on said driven members, each of said driven members having, beyond. the outer end of its locking member a plurality of flat faces extending substantially parallel to the axis of the driven member and adapted to be grasped with a wrench to prevent rotation of the driven member in response to the rotation of said sleeve to adjust the turnbuckle.

2. A turnbuckle as claimed in claim 1; in which the distance across said flat faces is less than the diameter of said cylindrical bearings whereby the outerends of said locking members will clear said flat faces when the locking members are screwed into locking position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 647,988 Rozansky Apr. 24, 1900 1,016,835 Maurice Feb. 6, 1912 1,110,201 Hardick Sept. 8, 1914 1,265,104 Ogden May 7, 1918 1,480,253 Fisher Jan. 8, 1924 2,295,357 Ryan Sept. 8, 1942 2,365,433 Polizzi Dec. 19, 1944 2,479,096 Bratz Aug. 16, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date '746,020 France of 1933 

